Economic Perspectives on Walnut Production and Trade in Darchula District of Nepal

Abstract

The research was conducted to study the production and marketing of walnuts in the Shailyashikhar rural municipality of the Darchula district of Nepal. A field survey was carried out to gather information from walnut producers and traders. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect the primary data from 80 households using a simple random sampling technique. Secondary information was collected via journals, research articles, reports of the Agriculture Knowledge Center (AKC), and statistical information on Nepalese agriculture published by the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD), Central Bureau of Statics (CBS), and Department of Agriculture (DoA). The total cost of walnut production was found to be NRs 29,228.35 per hectare. The mean B:C ratio was 1.743, which means the production of walnuts is likely to succeed in a long-term business. Land used for walnut production was found to have increased over the past 5 years. The productivity and area under walnut cultivation have been growing in recent years. Due to various problems in the production process and trading system, the return was relatively lower than expected. Lack of sufficient stacking, unavailability of quality seed, lack of irrigation and marketing facilities, marginal land, and incidence of disease and pest were found to be major problems in walnut production and marketing. Walnut cultivation is highly profitable in Shaiylashikhar and can be commercialized on a large scale. Still, proper policies, appropriate production techniques, necessary production inputs, and a systematized trading process should be guaranteed.